Yonkō Reunion on the Fields of Elysian
The Reunion Hikaru chugged another jug of sake. He had an excess from his winery that needed to be gotten rid of. Since no one would buy the stuff, he and Mizu decided to have a drinking contest. "That's 34!" "Pansy." Mizu spat and uncorked another bottle of wine and began to drink it thirstily. "I'm on my 36th." Hikaru smirked, "Not for long." He took two bottles of wine and drank both of them at the same time. "You two drunkards are going to keel over one of these days," said a seemingly distressed Rukia. "All that alcohol will destroy your livers." "Rukia, you should know by now that me and Hikaru are big livers!" exclaimed Mizu in a drunken frenzy. "We die when we want to. And this're 'spired booze ain't gonna kill neither of us." Mizu hiccuped, then fell over. "Yay!" Hikaru held his hands up. "I win!" He fell over and belched loudly. Rukia pinched her nose. "It's a good thing I love you both." Meanwhile, in the outside world, Raian Getsueikirite, esteemed captain of the Eighth Division, flashed on top of the nearest skyscraper and gazed down on humanity. He looked around for Seireitou, but found him nowhere, likely to be late as usual. Taking a deep breath, he sat down on the edge of the skyscraper, contemplating the day ahead of him. "This should be... an interesting twist of events.." he muttered to himself, awaiting his friends' arrivals. Overwhelmed with laziness, just as ever, Seireitou Kawahiru found himself on the way to meet with his friend Raian, Saori Sumeragi following close behind. It had been quite some time since he saw Raian, ever since all of the paperwork Raian had to deal with as Eighth Division Captain. Some might say it's because the previous Captain *cough-cough*Seireitou*cough-cough* was a lazy-ass who never finished paperwork. Before long, Seireitou and Saori found themselves face to face with Raian. "Hey Raian, you had called for us?" Hikaru and Mizu were still plastered within an inch of their lives when Mizu jolted and said, "HIKARU! We need to meet with Raian and Sei!" Hikaru sprang to his feet, and headed to the bedroom where Rukia was. "Hikaru what are you?" "Can't talk! Yonkou meeting!" Hikaru changed clothes within the span of 0.2 seconds. "Slower than usual," mused Mizu. "And he didn't bother to fix Yonkō..." Mizu finished putting on his battle gear, and headed out the door. Hikaru was already ahead of him. Raian was in the process of responding to Seireitou when the noise of Hikaru and Mizu bolting down the street caught his attention, causing him to snap his head in their direction; a comically annoyed look plastered in his usual stoic face. He then looked between Seireitou and the running Hikaru and shook his head. "Am I the only one in this group that isn't a stoned drunk?" he questioned, almost as if to himself. "WE DON'T DO POT!" yelled Mizu. "WE ONLY DRINK ABOUT 50 BOTTLES OF ALCOHOL A DAY!" "YOU IDIOT!" comically roared Hikaru. "WE COULD GET ARRESTED FOR YOU SAYING THAT!" "THEY DON'T CARE! THEY CAN'T HEAR US ANYWAY! WE'RE GOING TOO FAST FOR ANY NORMAL HUMAN TO HEAR US!" "IF YOU YELLED ANY MORE, THEY ACTUALLY MIGHT CATCH ON!" "WE'VE DONE OK SO FAR!" "I KNOW!" The idiot Kurosaki brothers screeched to a halt in front of the others. "I win," stated Hikaru. "No, I WON!" bellowed Mizu. "I DID!" yelled back Hikaru. "NO! I DID!" The two began to beat each other up. Seireitou's shoulders drooped down a bit, his face expressing narrowed eyes but with a sarcastic smirk. "Oh those two..." with Saori shaking her head. He picked up a rock and looked at Raian. "Twenty points I hit Mizu. Thirty for Hikaru. Fifty, I knock 'em both out." he claimed, throwing the rock at the quarreling brothers. The comical mood of the situation was getting to Raian. A sly smile crossed his face; one that had not shown since the days of their youth. "Get them both and I'll by your sake for a month." Raian chirped. Hikaru and Mizu sensed the rock coming near, and slashed it into sand. The remnants landed saying, 'You both lose.' "It'll take more than that to hit us," stated Hikaru. "And a lot more to beat us," ended Mizu. Seireitou bore a soft grin, crossing his arms. "Even when acting like idiots, you both are on your guard." He took a step off of the air where he stood, landing to the concrete road where Hikaru and Mizu were standing. He turned his head. "Raian, you coming?" Raian closed his eyes and smiled softly. Seeing his friends together was the biggest relief since before the conflicts with Akujin. Grabbing the sword on his waist, he raked it out of its sheathe, creating a tremendous burst of spiritual pressure followed by a release of flames that engulfed the surroundings. This was it's debut. Kōsaken Jakka. "Let's go, Sei." he replied quietly, launching himself into the city below. "Hikaru." "What?" "Can I fight this time? I want to see how I match up against them." "Sure." It Begins... Seireitou stood with his arms crossed, his white haori fluttering in the wind as he stood facing forward, where Mizu had descended. Raian, right before, had descended near the two. The silver-haired man peered over to look at Hikaru, but then looked toward Mizu. "So, how will this work out, Mizu? Raian? Who'll fight first?" Saori stood at the top of a large tree branch, her arms held at her side as she would watch. Legends of vast powers were about to duke it out, after all... She could not help but watch. "Mizu." "Sure." Mizu unsheathed his Zanpakutō. "Let's get it started." "Heh..." Seireitou turned to look at Raian. "I'll leave him to you then, my friend." Keeping his arms crossed, bearing his signature smile, Seireitou bent his knees a bit and launched himself to the skies, keeping to the same level Hikaru was standing at. Saori soon made her way to where Seireitou stood, as the duo watched below them, for the battle between Raian and Mizu would soon start. Raian swung his large Zanpakutō over his shoulder and faced Mizu. It had been a very long while since Raian had seen the younger Kurosaki. The reiatsu he was feeling confirmed his suspicions; not much had changed since last they met. A pillar of flames erupted around Raian and shot upwards into the sky, piercing the clouds. "Come now, Mizu." Raian beckoned. Mizu smirked, "Cool." He dashed towards Raian holding his sword in a thrust position. Raian leaped upwards at an angle, becoming airborne and dodging the thrust. His moves were cautious. Though Mizu wasn't one in name, he was every bit as strong as the Yonkō. Letting his guard down would prove fatal. Grasping his blade tightly in his right hand, Raian swept his blade in an arc, unleashing a torrent of flames on the surrounding streets and, in doing so, creating a large ring of flames around the younger Kurosaki. Mizu swung his sword around, chanting, "Jigoku II: Meuin Hinote!" A Cero-like bullet of green flame intercepted Raian's flames, cancelling both of the attacks out. Mizu smiled, "You sure I can't become a Yonkō?" "If there were 2 Kurosakis as Yonkō, there would be riots, pillaging, and mass murder," flatly answered Hikaru. "AND I actually care, Mizu." "Tsk, fine," said an annoyed Mizu. "I didn't want to join your Citizen/Soldier club anyway." Raian's eyes narrowed, analyzing the attack that canceled out his flames. He landed slightly below where Seireitou was floating, the force of his impact crushing the ground beneath his feet; his haori fluttering in the air as the shockwave traveled upwards. He glanced back at Seireitou and Saori. "You two might want to move further up. I have a feeling that I might need to turn up the heat." Raian muttered. He then turned to face Mizu once again. Holding his large blade in front of him, a glow of determination shined brightly in his eyes. "Here we go, Mizu. What you wanted. A fight at the Yonkō level." Raian declared. The Yonkō-level Fight! The next burst of flames could only properly be defined as an eruption. The force from the flames' release obliterated the ground surrounding Raian. The spiritual pressure being emitted from the young Yonkō was so hot that it actually emitted heat waves, distorting the vision of the nearby spectators. Raian plunged his right foot in the ground and launched himself with tremendous force directly at Mizu, a flaming aura enveloping him. Coating his Shikai's blade in these flames, he raised his blade above his head and swung down on Mizu's skull. Mizu blocked Raian's blade with relative ease. "No wonder you're a Yonkō, man. That sword of yours has got some nice power." Black ooze began seeping onto Mizu's Zanpakutō. "Still, I got experience like my bro!" He parried Raian's blade and aimed to slash his shoulder. Raian recoiled from the parried blow Mizu delivered him, however, the flames surrounding him seemed to move of their own will, intensifying their heat by a vast amount, to block Mizu's blade from cutting Raian's shoulder. At the same time, coming into contact with such intense heat caused Mizu's blade to glow white-hot. Taking advantage of the opening, Raian aimed a powerful flame-enhanced kick directly at Mizu's chest. "Oof-da!" Mizu sped away from Raian, still clutching his blade, landing some 5 meters away. He stood up and inspected his clothes. Ruined. "Oh that's just great. You ruined this top." He tore off his burnt clothes to reveal a spectacular physique. He cracked his neck and inspected his blade. "It's a good thing I survived training using the Second Hell of my Tenmatatsujin. All the times I got burnt, now I don't even feel it. That and I can redirect the flames into another attack." He swung his sword sending another Meuin Hintote towards Raian. Raian drooped his blade at his side whilst raising his left hand at the impending energy wave. The energy struck his hand, but Raian remained unmoved, parting the blast around his body. With a flick of wrist, Raian sent the blast flying into a nearby skyscraper, reducing the large building to rubble in a loud explosion. The explosion released a large gust of wind on the battlefield, causing Raian's haori to flutter violently. "Its as I thought." Raian thought to himself, keeping an ever close eye on the younger Kurosaki. "His blast is much like a Cero both in reishi structure and in application." Swinging his blade in a circular motion above his head, Raian unleashed a tornado-shaped torrent of flames at the building directly above Mizu, obliterating the building with ease and sending a rain of flaming rubble down on the younger Kurosaki. "Aw, hell..." The building crashed on the younger Kurosaki. In a burst of energy, unseen by Raian up until this point in the fight, the young Yonkō burst into a sprint, running directly at the rubble where the flaming building created by his attack had fallen on Mizu. As he got within a few meters of the rubble, he focused all of his energy into his legs and feet, leaping in a tremendous burst of flames, reducing the ground beneath his leap to ash. Now far above the sight of the building's collapse, able to see the entire battlefield from a bird's eye point of view, Raian summoned a storm of flames, which focused around his Zanpakutō. " !" he bellowed; his deep voice ringing out across the cityscape. An inferno that outclassed any Raian had unleashed thus far burst forth from the cleaver-like blade, dousing the entire city in the flames of Raian's power. "Are you sure we can do this?" asked Mizu to Hikaru. "If Raian's going crazy, then yep," answered Hikaru. "By the way, how did you escape that building?" "Joki. The Mizu over there is an illusion." "Slick move, bro." "Thanks, big bro." The two fist-bumped. Mizu held up his Zanpakutō and said, "Infect those who shun light, Tenmatatsujin!" The black blade with it's sinister green aura made itself evident to everyone on the field with its discharge of a green flame attack towards Raian. "Green flames?" Raian questioned mentally. The oddly-colored flames licked Raian's haori on its left sleeve. Without hesitation, Raian reached over with his right hand and tore the sleeve off, tossing it into the burning city below. New flames were birthed from Raian's Shikai, these colored black as the night itself. As he brought his blade to bear above his head, more and more black flames lit up on Raian's blade, casting an immense heatwave on the surrounding area. "Getsuga...!" he snarled, "...Tenshō!" Swinging his blade with tremendous force, Raian unleashed a crescent wave of undying black flames, traveling towards Mizu with increased speeds. The air heated to the point where it created a boom as it entered the city and aimed to collide with his opponent. Mizu glared at the huge moon-fang. "You really want to bring out my Bankai, huh?" He smirked, and slashed the blast in two. "Too bad." He endured the explosion of energy, drawing some of the flames into his own Tenmatatsujin. Though the flames did burn Mizu, it wasn't as great as some would think. With the absorbed energy, he slashed his sword sending a blade into the sky. Thunderclouds began to form. Raian glanced upwards as the storm clouds began to gather overhead. A cool wind blew over the battlefield, another sign that the weather was changing and a storm was coming. "What's this? These clouds must've formed from the heat of the ability he just sent into the sky from his Zanpakutō. This power isn't consistent with the abilities he's demonstrated thus far. There has to be a connection here that links his Shikai abilities..." Raian analyzed. Looking back down at Mizu, Raian decided to respond, "You're wrong. Your Bankai is unimportant to me. However, if you want to win..." he began, "...it might be your best bet....!" Seven tremendous pillars of flames burst from many different locations all over the city, yet all seven were in common in that they had some proximity to Mizu and Raian's battle. was being unleashed. The rising heat quickly overcame the cold front brought forth by the forming storm clouds. "I wonder what other abilities you'll bring forth..." Raian muttered. "Jigoku III: RAKURAI!" A monstrous bolt of lightning closed in on Raian. Admist the flames surrounding the battlefield, which Saori was mentally keeping from damaging any of the landscape beyond their battlefield via her Mikodō abilities, Seireitou had watched the fierce battle between comrades. His face and posture were the peak of calm and composure. But rather... that is what one might think. Deep within, the warrior heart he possessed was beating faster at the same rate the battle was getting intense. He couldn't help it, after all. His blood was boiling with anticipation. He formed a smile from watching the battle. The bolt of lighting hit home. It was far too fast for Raian to dodge, however, Raian made no real effort to dodge it. The heat from the bolt vaporized his haori, leaving only his black shihakushō intact. Nevertheless, Raian stood tall in the blast. A gash appeared on his head, leaking crimson blood down Raian's face, dripping a splotch of blood across his right eye and down his cheek. "Impressive. The consciousness of Yamamoto within me feels pretty nostalgic. It feels like 's Bankai...!" Raian grinned to himself, "You're too naive if you think that is sufficient to defeat me!" All at once, the seven pillars of flames that Raian had created moments before erupted, obliterating everything within the confines of their parameter, reducing a large portion of the city into rubble and ash, and creating an enormous crater in the ground; a mushroom cloud rising high above the city. Hikaru jumped to safety with Seireitou and Saori. "OK, who said the Zeeky words?" "Bro, no one will get that reference," said a scorched Mizu. He stood guarded underneath a stronger piece of building shrapnel. "And that was hot, Raian. Didn't your mommy tell you 'play with fire, you're going to get burned.'?" Folding his arms, Raian slowly descended to the scorched and scarred battlefield, landing in the crater containing his friends and his opponent. "If you have anything more to throw at me, please bring it." Raian countered, ignoring the jeer. Mizu pushed the debris off of him and spat at the ground, "Killjoy. So everyone wants to see what ole Mizu has been hiding, right? Gotta make this fight more enjoyable, right? Gotta show I'm more than just talk." Mizu's spiritual pressure disappeared. No one could feel it any longer. He held out Tenmatatsujin towards Raian. "Tonight, my heart is cold, The lost ones start all the fires. The fallen ones ignite hatred. The tamer descends to quash the rebellion." Hikaru looked over to Seireitou and Saori. "We should get to someplace safer than right here." A grin of pure malice adorned Mizu's face, "BANKAI!" A column of black-purple energy tore through the ground Mizu stood on, shooting straight through the sky. When the energy cleared, Mizu stood in practically his same clothes, but his sword had changed greatly. The former black and green blade was silver and purple. Mizu's sheath changed in type to match the new blade. "Maō-chū Nijūsupai." Mizu's Bankai... Raian's Bankai... "So this is your Bankai." Raian stated, admiring the activation of Mizu's second release. "What fabulous reiatsu." In one fluid motion, Raian slammed his sword deep into the ground next to him and then clapped his hands together. "I suppose it would be insulting if I didn't bring out a new trick of my own. I warn you though, I haven't had adequate time to test this in real combat. I might get a bit messy." Raian declared as his entire body became enveloped in bright golden Kidō energy. "Shundan!" The force of Raian's already sizable reiatsu increased substantially causing the ground to tremor slightly. Grabbing his sword with his Kidō-coated hand, Raian tore the blade from the ground, creating a rather large impression where it had once been. "Let's go..." Raian said. "I don't have long in this form." Mizu said nothing. He disappeared from view, reappearing behind Raian slashing downwards. Raian whirled around, catching Mizu's blade with his right arm; allowing the reiatsu which coated it to protect his body from harm. With his free hand, and using the tremendous new speed granted by Shundan, Raian curled his fingers into a fist and unloaded a powerful towards Mizu's abdomen. Seireitou turned toward Hikaru, bearing a comical grin. "You're not scared of a few fireworks, are you Hikaru-san? You don't need to worry about Saori either... She may not look it, but she is on both our levels." he noted, paying heed to the ensuing battle as Mizu went on his Bankai assault. He turned back to Hikaru and nodded. "But perhaps they might need more room... Especially if Raian goes Bankai. Lead the way, we'll follow." he remarked. Mizu flashed away, leaving a booming sound behind. "Bio-cellular Kidō, huh? Cousin Hanzei taught you well." He reappeared behind Raian. "But not well enough." He slashed downward, aiming to cut open his opponent's back. Raian stepped to the side, allowing Mizu's blade to swish right by him, the aura of Shundan evaporating off of his body. "Similar tactics. You always aim for the back, Mizu. That's your weakness." Raian noted, point his blade forward. "Nevertheless, your Bankai literally cuts spiritual pressure. What a troublesome ability. I had hoped not to use this." As he spoke, the flames that had doused the city and the crater they had been fighting in ceased to exist; vanishing before Mizu's very eyes. As this happened, Raian's Zanpakutō shrunk down to the form of a katana and his cloak become more form-fitting. At the same time, his spiritual pressure, like Mizu's upon entering Bankai, vanished. "Bankai..." Raian muttered under his breath, "Hinochidaichi no Jokai!" A dry spell hit the battlefield, stripping away every molecule of water by a seemingly invisible force. "Let us see if your powers are any match for this Bankai..." Raian beckoned, preparing for battle once again. The water is gone, but the oxygen and hydrogen levels increased. Hikaru thought to himself. I know Yama's Bankai could destroy the Soul Society over a long period of time, but... "I fought the old man long ago," stated Mizu blandly. "I still can't believe the geezer lives on in you." He looked over to Hikaru. "Stop thinking, and watch." Hikaru ceased, then smiled, "You already lost your original Bankai, brother. I doubt you'll get a third." Mizu said nothing. He just held up his sword, charging it with green-black flames. "Jigoku II: Meiun Hintote." He fired the blast, 100 times larger than before at Raian. The full intensity of the hell-flames boomed towards Raian, seeking to swallow him up and turn him to ash. "Let us begin." Raian snarled, "Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin!" Raian jabbed his blade directly into Mizu's energy blast, causing the blast to be completely obliterated with just the simple gesture. "That ability, Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin, is the offensive power of my Bankai. It doesn't burn you. It doesn't flare up as my Shikai does. It simply incinerates anything my blade edge or point touches; even if the target is also flames." Raian explained. "Impossible," said Mizu. "Power difference may exist yes. But you can't burn flames. You disassemble both molecules and reishi using super-compressed heat, releasing it when you choose to do so. My flames were extinguished, not incinerated." Mizu stood defiantly in the face of the small moon cutting king. "1,500,000 degrees Celsius didn't scare me centuries ago, and it certainly does not scare me now." "Impossible, says you? Very possible, says I." Raian cackled, "Nevertheless, there is one important difference between then and now; I am not Yamamoto. I possess his mind and his power, but they have merged with my own mind and power. Simply having come into contact with Zanka no Tachi won't allow you to defeat my Bankai. That said, you haven't moved to physically attack me yet. I assume the reason is because of that technique?" "Nah," responded Mizu. "I just wanted to gauge your power. I forgot what the sun felt like." He held his sword in the defensive, not giving an inch to the dangers of the flames Raian could wield. "And don't cackle. You're not Echo as much as I am not him either. And fusing with an old rival does not make you him. Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto is the one who defeated me, not you, Raian Getsueikirite." Mizu disappeared from view again, bringing down his sword on Raian's head. Raian refused to move. Half of Mizu's Zanpakutō vanished upon coming within range of Raian's head. Then, as if on command, the flames materialized as an aura around Raian's body, dousing the area in the sun's light. "Why even attempt it? Your Bankai can cut through reiatsu. That alone is impressive. But cutting through flames burning as hot as the sun is quite a different matter entirely. While I am in Bankai, touching me with your sword, hand, or otherwise, is impossible." Raian explained, "Hinochidaichi no Jokai, West: Zanjutsu Gokui! I know you too well, Mizu Kurosaki. This fight has reached its end." "Has it?" The real Mizu stood above Raian with his sword raised above his head. "You had to see this coming." The thunderclouds from before appeared, but they were composed of reishi, not kishi. The secret behind Mizu's Rakurai attack became clear. He is the attack. "Check." The thunderbolt of compressed reishi crashed down onto Raian. However, the results of this attack differed from the first. Vanishing from sight, Raian dodged the attack as the bolt of lightning crashed into the ground, creating an explosion of titanic proportions. Raian appeared behind Mizu, the flaming aura surrounding him licking the sky and heating the air to abnormal heights. Raian then brought the blade of his Bankai down, aiming to slash Mizu across the back with his Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin. "You're too overconfident." Raian explained as he slashed, "My Bankai, like yours, is a compression of power. My speed is tremendously higher than before. Your lightning tricks will no longer reach me." "Maybe, but I'm only an afterimage." The Mizu that Raian slashed was merely a shadow. The thunderbolt charged straight at Raian again. "Do you take me for a child?!" Raian snapped, "I have long since forgone being tricked by mere afterimages and clones! The only way to defeat me is head on!" Raian looked over his shoulder and slashed, his Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin completely erasing the thunderbolt from his vision, leaving only Mizu in its wake. He then swung his blade in an arc; "Getsuga... Tenshō!" he bellowed, unleashing a cyclone of black flames on the younger Kurosaki. As if it were some otherworldly motorcycle, the thunderbolt/Mizu made a 90 degree turn to escape the blast of the Getsuga Tenshō Raian fired. He then stopped, appearing the same as before, except emitting a bluish aura. "And yet you still fell for my Joki. Sloppy work." He charged at Raian again. Hikaru sighed. "This is getting old, fast. Raian! Do something about Sparky McKilowatt, would ya?" "I see no other way. If long-range attacks don't get at him, I have to take the risk of getting in close." Raian thought. His aura of flames protecting him, Raian did the unthinkable and charged at Mizu, halting his movements completely by grabbing the Kurosaki while still in his lightning bolt form, gritting his teeth and ignoring the pain. With Mizu firmly in place, Raian slashed down one last time, aiming to end things with Hinochidaichi no Jokai, East: Kyokujutsujin. Saori brought the back of her hand to her forehead, sweating a bit as she sighed. "This dry heat is ruining my complexion." Seireitou, however, remained standing with his arms crossed, his eyes fixated on the onslaught of flames and lightning bolts. Out of the blue, his head lowered. Immediately, he lowered his hands and yelled out. "Raian, for ****'s sake, end this now before I kick Mizu and your asses myself! It's way too ****ing hot, and I'mma 'bout to lose it in this heat, so you both better end this before I come down there and beat you both so hard you'll be ****ing sideways for a month!" he called out, taking a deep breath, slowly regaining a calm composure. The sudden outburst caught Raian by surprise and stopped his attack. He looked back in Seireitou's direction, his eyes wide with comical furry. "Shaddap! That's too much pressure! I can't work under pressure! You know this you grey-haired baboon!" Raian roared comically, "Jōkaku Enjō!" The massive flames of Raian's Bankai came roaring back, surrounding himself and Mizu completely, isolating them to a small location. "This is it Mizu. No more running away. No more dodging. We end this in here." Raian declared. "I agree." Mizu's sword glowed purple. "Jigoku IV: Shūrai no Mangūsu."A white cloak enveloped Mizu. His presence disappeared from everyone's senses, including Hikaru's. He began his slash parade against Raian. Raian stood in place, allowing the flames from his Bankai's cloak to eradicate each slash as they came at him. At the same time, he angled his blade downward towards the ground. "You just don't get it. Fine then... allow me to show the true ferocity of Hinochidaichi no Jokai!" Raian roared. Endgame From the ground far below them, flames began erupting from all over, surrounding the entrapped fighters with pillars of flames. Pointing his Zanpakutō down, flames began to gather along the blade. "Here it is. You'll be finished here." Raian muttered, "Hinochidaichi no Jokai, Minami: Kaka Jūman Okushi Daisōjin!" From the flames below, ashes began to arise and take form. As the ashes collected together, bones began to form. The bones slowly turned into skeletons. Those skeletons first numbered in the dozens. Then the hundreds. And then the thousands. Until now, looking down on the city, and army of the flaming undead covered every square inch of the battlefield below. "A truly abhorrent ability, if you ask me. It is a subtle reminder that, while we Shinigami fight for protection of what is dear to us, there is cost attached to that. Below are the ashes of those killed by my blade. They have been resurrected for a time to fight for me. Don't think it will be easy beating them all. They are.... harder to get rid of than you might expect. Even Seireitou wouldn't be able to do so quickly." Raian explained. At a silent command, the flaming-undead masses began to rise into the sky, blotting out the sight of the ground below as they rose to fight Mizu in the air; Raian, coated in the flames of Hinochidaichi no Jokai, leading their army. "N...No way," Mizu's surprise was directed towards Raian parrying his attacks. "There's absolutely no way. You'd have to be precise down to the nanometer to block all those attacks. There's just no way..." Mizu gritted his teeth. His blade turned a dark red. "There's just no way you could have done that!" A column of blood-red energy consumed Mizu, then exploded outwards like a nuclear bomb. The wave slammed into Raian's army with the force of a jet. In the center of the explosion, Mizu became engulfed in the dark energy. The emotion of wrath could only be seen in his face. He took a step, then rocketed through the first wave of Raian's army on his way to attack the commander. "Not good," said Hikaru. "Mizu is using Tsumi no Jisshi-Girai." "You fool." Raian silently muttered, "A Bankai ability that focuses all of your wrath and hatred into pure speed and adrenaline. You can't stop until the object of your hatred is completely destroyed. But emotion clouds judgement and logic. You can't think straight like that. Its too bad though..." As Raian spoke, several of the Quincy that Raian had killed in times past arose from the army, unleashing large volleys of their Heilig Pfeil upon the raging Mizu. Meanwhile, Raian began to focus his Zanpakutō's power for a finishing move. "...While you're like that, you won't feel the pain from what is to come immediately. I can imagine the excruciating pain you'll feel when it wears off." Raian finished, lunging for Mizu. "Hinochidaichi no Jokai, Higashi: Kyokujutsujin!" Then he slashed down. Mizu burst into flames that consumed his entire being. That was all that could be said. Yet Hikaru remained stoic. "I can't believe it." A sword appeared from the maelstrom of flame. Mizu Kurosaki had stabbed Raian Getsueikirite. The Mizu who had died was a Joki, and the real Mizu had his right arm nearly burned to the bone. Mizu smirked. "At least grant me this attack." He collapsed, still gripping his sword. Mizu's sword slowly began to burn up and flake away as Hinochidaichi no Jokai's protective flames incinerated it. However, there was a gash in Raian's back where the blade had managed to reach before being consumed by the everlasting flames. Raian looked down on the defeated Kurosaki brother and deactivated his Bankai; the undead brought forth by his last ability dissolving into ash and his blade returning to its large, Shikai, cleaver-form. At the same time, the tremendous heat wave brought upon by Raian's Bankai ended. Slowly, Raian began walking away towards Seireitou, Saori, and Hikaru, leaving Mizu on the ground. "Good fight." he called back as he walked away, "I haven't gotten that fired up in a long time. Now, let us see what your brother and the great Seireitou Kawahiru can do." Hikaru flashed down to his defeated brother. He noticed something strange about his brother's blade. The flakes from the sword that Raian's Bankai burned flowed to Mizu's scorched arm. His Zanpakutō also crumbled into iron sand and covered up the arm as well, then began to glow green. After a couple of seconds, Mizu's arm was good as new. The younger Kurosaki coughed, and jolted up. Hikaru kept his distance the entire time, so he was not hit. "What happened?" asked Mizu frantically. He then clutched his head. "Ow...What the hell did I hit?" He smelled his breath. "Or drink?" Hikaru blinked, then burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" asked Mizu. "Is there something on my face?" He looked down to see that he was shirtless. "Did Sayuri steal my shirt again?" He then sniffed his darkened skin. "And why do I smell like Korean Barbecue?" "You are truly amazing little brother!" Hikaru could barely contain himself. Mizu blankly stared at Hikaru, then looked over to Raian. "Hey! Raian! What happened to me? I feel like I was hit by a freight train headed straight for a lava pit." Raian sighed and comically face-palmed, "Drunkards. The lot of you." he huffed, leaping onto the building Seireitou was perched on. "Sorry for the heat wave." He then tapped Seireitou's shoulder, "Tag. You're it." Ancient Rivals Meet on the Field of Battle Once More "Can someone please explain to me why I keep losing my clothes?" asked Mizu as he was being bandaged up by Hikaru. His arm healed, but the rest of his body contained first and second-degree burns all around his left arm, chest, and legs. "You just don't take good care of your stuff," answered Hikaru. He chuckled, "Maybe it's all the brain damage you get waking up in Sayuri's room when you're hung over." Mizu cracked his neck. "It's her fault that she leaves her doors open. And besides, my room is on the cold side of the house. Her room is nice and warm." Hikaru rolled his eyes. "Sure, that's your only reason. It couldn't be anything like you two share a bond or anything like that." Mizu glared at Hikaru. "Just finish bandaging me, bro." He looked to Raian. "So we fought? I hope I wasn't obnoxious." Seireitou snickered softly, walking over to where Mizu, Hikaru, and Raian all stood by. Saori stood beside Seireitou, holding a hand at Mizu, whom was instantly surrounded by a purple barrier. Slowly but surely, the blood he had lost throughout the fight began making their way back inside his body's flesh injuries, "closing the door" behind them, as Mizu was eventually healed to full working status. Saori smiled softly. "I hope you're feeling alright now, Mizu-san." She later turned to Raian, holding her other hand up, in which a purple barrier surrounded the black-haired man, taking her time in healing his injuries. "I have to say, I'm impressed Mizu. You've definately earned a right to call yourself a Yonkō's equal." Seireitou said smiling, then he turned away. "Hikaru, we can't let them have all the fun, now can we?" he remarked, making his way to the battlefield where Mizu and Raian fought, by way of a flash step. "Could you please tell Seireitou 'Thank You' when you get out there?" asked Mizu. "And..." "I know," said Hikaru. He put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Rest up, bro." As Hikaru was about to leave the forcefield, he turned to Saori and bowed. "Thank you, Saori-dono, for healing my brother.." Mizu nodded, "Yeah, thank you." Saori nodded while smiling, finishing up with Raian. "Of course, anything for friends of Kawahiru-kun." she replied. Seireitou stood on the battlefield, his arms crossed like before, but his look wasn't tense or serious. Rather humorous really. Hikaru appeared in front of Seireitou, "Mizu says thank you. I don't think you've praised him like that since the First Shinigami-Arrancar War." He cracked his back. "We don't have to worry about your Zankpakutō destroying the world, do we?" "Mizu's grown a lot. He may still be reckless, but he's becoming more aware of things around him. More intelligent. More stronger. When young ones like him mature and become stronger, they shine so brightly, us old folk can't help but evade our eyes a little." he said while maintaining his care-free facial expression, allowing his arms to drop by his side. "Perhaps I picked it this arrogant confidence from Echo... but I don't think I'll need my Zanpakutō. Not this time." he expressed. Hikaru sighed, "That's not fair, Sei. You know I can't do hand-to-hand combat." He looked up. "And what's the point of fighting me without drawing your blade?" "You misunderstand Hikaru-san." he began, bending his legs as he got into a martial arts stance. His left hand's palm facing upwards as his other hand rested to his waist. "I'm expecting you to draw your sword and use it. You don't need to worry about me. Jiujutsu was created for the purpose of challenging an armed opponent, so don't hold anything back." he finished. Hikaru stared blankly at his friend. "The moment you draw your sword, I'll stop holding back." He drew Tenshitō, and readied to attack, but changed his mind. He stood without defense. Seireitou rose an eyebrow, and began to chuckle lightly. "Isn't that just like you, Hikaru... Alright, I understand." he answered. His right hand gripped the handle of his Zanpakutō, wielding the blade from its sheath, holding it at the ready. "But you're being so unfair. After all, among the Yonkō, you have the best swordsmanship." he spoke, though in a sarcastic tone of voice, a smile forming at his face. Hikaru looked at surprise at Seireitou. "Actually, I'm alright with you using martial arts. We'd just go through an episode of Chase the Devil while I make you look like a fool." Hikaru put his hand to his chin. "Come to think of it, that would get annoying after a while. We might needlessly create something like 'Eat at Joe's' in the ashes. Ah well." Hikaru looked back at Sei with the smile that harkened back to the old days. "It doesn't matter if you use martial arts, Chinese sorcery, or even Zenkai." Hikaru readied to face his old ally, his eternal rival, and his best friend. "You won't beat me." Raian popped his neck as he watched from a nearby building, shortly after being healed. The city that had started out as the battlefield had been reduced to rubble and a large crater by he and Mizu's fight, but neither Seireitou nor Hikaru seemed bothered by that. "They're both holding back their reiatsu. Sei-san is as good as any Shinigami swordsman with his fists. But Kurosaki-san... he's so mysterious. Among the Yonkō, he is the only one who's Bankai I have not witnessed. I wonder what Sei's thinking..." Raian thought to himself as a cool wind blew over his face, drying the sweat from his fight from his cheeks. "Oh?" Seireitou readied his own blade, bearing a smile of both excitement and anticipation. "We will see, Hikaru. Things are different from how they were decades back." he stated, disappearing from sight. He began to charge Hikaru, but what passed through Hikaru was only an afterimage, produced by the immense speed Seireitou exhibited. The real Seireitou was now in front of Hikaru, swinging his blade down hard on Hikaru's head. "Deflect," Hikaru parried Seireitou's attack with ease. "Diagonal upward slash." Hikaru's movements matched his words. "My brother, the tease," mused Mizu. "When he and Rukia were dating, he teased her constantly." He looked to Raian then Saori. "Neither of you have seen Hikaru's Bankai, right?" Raian replied, but didn't take his eyes off the battlefield, fixated on the action taking place below, "I can't speak for Saori-chan, but I personally have never witnessed it. During the war, Hikaru and I rarely fought together. He was more of a mentor to me. But..." he stopped, "If anyone's seen it. That would be Sei-san." Mizu laughed heartily. "That may have been Hikaru's False Bankai that he saw, but he's never seen the real deal." Mizu looked down to the two rivals. "Nah, nobody has seen what Hikaru's True Bankai looks like but me." Seireitou took a swift backward step, dodging the slash only slightly in order to remain within Hikaru's personal space area, spinning his body around and throwing his leg outwards in a wheel kick, the heel aiming to strike Hikaru's head. In the midst of this, Seireitou's left hand began forming a blue ball of reiryoku. Hikaru threw his sword away using the momentum of his attack, then dropped back onto his hands, back flipping once, then he used a flash step to catch his sword in mid-air. He swung down shouting, "GETSUGA TENSHŌ!" A violet moon fang sliced through the air making it's way to Seireitou. Holding his blade upwards, in a horizontal position, he fought back the force of the Getsuga as soon as it struck him. Although it took some brute force, he parried the Getsuga, deflecting it off to the side. Finally ready, he thrust his left arm out, shooting a strong Sōkatsui spell right for Hikaru. "Tenrai Urufu Hōkō!" Hikaru pulled out his sheath and put away his sword with such god-speed that a howling could be heard from the speed and power of the sheathing. From this, a barely visible circular wave could be seen going in the direction of the Sōkatsui that Seireitou shot at Hikaru. The wave and the fire-blast intercepted with the shot going through Hikaru's attack. However, for a split-second, both blasts ceased moving. A spider web-like pattern made itself evident in Hikaru's howling wave. Hikaru's attack imploded on the Sōkatsui, effectively destroying the attack and preventing Hikaru from being harmed. Hikaru smiled, "I should have used a better Getsuga Tenshō." He drew his sword again. "It's hard to will that attack out of Tenshitō, especially when he's napping." Seireitou had grinned at this and sheathed his Zanpakutō. "Hikaru, I think you'll like this. I modeled it after a technique you showed me years back... on another battlefield." he expressed. Widening his eyes a bit, he cupped his hands together at his waist. Getting in a deeper stance, he began to focus his immense reiatsu, condensing it at his fingertips. Saori's eyes widened a bit at this. "Is that... really reiryoku...? Could it be some form of Kidō? No... It is the very force of his tremendous reiatsu, taking a physical form at his palms." she had mentally remarked. "Hah!!" he shouted, thrusting both of his hands outwards, firing an immense burst of energy in a blinding beam of light, aimed to crush Hikaru where he stood. History Repeats Itself! Beam Clash of the Rivals! Hikaru sheathed his sword, then held his arms out to make him look like a cross. Massive amounts of energy gathered in both hands, then he brought them together and fired an incredible beam of energy at Seireitou meeting the other blast in a magnificent beam clash. That power...Is he serious? thought Mizu. We may be in trouble if this escalates. Hikaru's power in that attack is unprecedented. Sei doesn't know what kind of power struggle he's gotten into. "As expected..." Pushing his arms forward, Seireitou exerted more reiatsu into the Reihikari, channeling a stronger force which slowly began to overcome Hikaru's own technique, if only by a little. Beneath the power struggle, the ground began shaking, earth becoming unearthed, dust rising high up in the air, causing a small-scale earthquake in their vicinity. The small earth tremor triggered the already crumbling building Raian was standing on to shift, sending him tumbling to the ground bellow, comically screaming the whole way down until he was covered by the rubble chasing after him. Minutes passed as the earthquake continued. Then, suddenly, Raian's head bust out from the rubble in which he was buried, comic fury was apparent on the captain's face. "OI! Ya grey-haired bastard! Drunken wolf-lovin' neanderthal! Turn down the power a bit would ya!" he roared in comic anger. "Saori-chan! You better do something! At this rate these drunkards will kill us all and split the Earth's plates in two!" Mizu stood unaffected by the tremors. "Raian, just get back up here." A dark shield appeared around Mizu and Saori. "Are you really going to let something like the world blowing up really concern you?" Hikaru took notice of the power increase. Maintaining the beam with his left hand, he powered up another beam in his right, and fired that beam into the already powerful blast, doubling his power to break through Sei's attack. Raian mumbled under his breath, using his flaming reiatsu to burst from the rubble and fly up towards Mizu. He stormed over and got behind Mizu's shield, standing next to Saori with his arms crossed. "You're all lunatics. All of ya." he scowled. He then leaned over and whispered to Saori, "Ya got any booze? If we're gonna die, might as well go out with a bang." Mizu held out two flasks of Romanée-Conti to Saori and Raian. "The best we make at the Winery. We only give out flasks to our closest friends." Saori had blinked for a moment, as her eyes then sparkled like a schoolgirl, taking the flask as she gently rubbed it against her soft cheek. "Oh... it's been forever since I've had such high quality wine~" she had remarked. She then faced Mizu. "Thank you, Mizu-san." she stated with a closed-eyed smile. Mizu smiled gently. He had always liked making women happy, even if it was something small like expensive wine. "You're welcome, Saori-chan." "Damnit... I should've known... But I'm not... going to lose!!" With a roar as loud as ever, his entire body became surrounded in the aura of the Reihikari, making it far stronger and covering an even wider range, equaling the score between their attacks. This pissing contest of who has the better beam is going to go on for a while, thought Mizu as he drank from his flask of wine. Hikaru noticed the power change, and relented from meeting an end where he'd die. Some part of him remembered another life where that had happened. Instead, he began to open up limit gates of his reiatsu. Before, he was using 10% power. Now that was doubled. His blast began to rip through Seireitou's blast with ease. "Tch..." Deciding he had no choice, Seireitou used flash step to escape the range of the blast, allowing Hikaru's attack to punch through his Reihikari. Appearing a few meters away from where Hikaru was, Seireitou aimed his palm for the former. "Raikōhō!" he shouted, a massive discharge of lightning produced and shot right for Hikaru. Hikaru's fingers pointed down with the index and middle fingers pointing to the ground and his ring and pinky fingers flat against his palm. His thumbs pointed towards Seireitou. As he did this, rings of yellow energy like gears began spinning between Hikaru's ring and pinky fingers and his palms. When the gears became totally visible, he brought his hands up till where the energies began to make an X. In the middle of the energy rings, a small orb formed in the center. The end result was something akin to a small planet with crossed rings. "Kidō Bakudan!" Hikaru released the potent energy bomb by tossing it with his right hand like it was a baseball. When it collided with the lightning, the explosion boomed across the plane, kicking up ash and rubble with ease. The blast Hikaru fired contained super-focused energy that would produce devastating effects if it hit someone else. Seireitou's eyes narrowed, somersaulting as he did handstands on the ground several times, flipping to the position right above Hikaru, aiming to take him out with a close-range axe kick, while his hand was placed on the handle of his Zanpakutō, preparing for a one-two strike. Hikaru dodged the kick, then drew his sword to block Sei's slash. As the two collided, Hikaru commented, "Just like old times, eh buddy?" "Yeah... I wouldn't have it any other way, my friend." With a grin, Seireitou pushed back from the sword clash, revealing that he was focusing energy in his free hand. "Hah!" he shouted, aiming a one-handed Reihikari for Hikaru, which fired almost instantaneously. Hikaru took the blast, then used his sword to deflect it heavenward. He smirked and taunted, "Is that all?" Seireitou replied with his own smirk. "Maybe it is." he mused, holding his blade in a horizontal position, his free hand resting against the blunt end. "Hadō 32." A strand of yellow reiryoku formed at the sharp edge of the blade. "Ōkasen." With an intense flash, a massive wave of energy flew through the sky, aiming to crash into Hikaru, thanks to its wide range. Getsuga Tenshō. Hikaru fired a condensed Moon-Fang at Sei's blast, cutting it in half, letting the energies fly past him, crashing into the landscape behind him. The blasts created a huge explosions on Hikaru's sides. With a grin, Seireitou held up his left arm, snapping his fingers as a spark of energy appeared, generating a massive burst of white flames that tackled Hikaru. But it wasn't over. One snap after another, the flames got bigger and hotter. Between blasts, Hikaru yelled, "Sei! I suppose I should tell you that I'm not as comfortable naked in public like my brother!" Mizu snorted. "I'm not always naked in public." Everyone, except Hikaru who was used to this, stared at Mizu with apprehension. Mizu paid it no mind. Hikaru somewhat defended himself with his sword, preparing a tiny sphere of energy in his right palm. Hikaru tosses the silver energy with red sparks into the air until it hovered over Seireitou. The energy fell like a meteor, aiming for the center of Sei's head. Holding his blade up, Seireitou had generated the energy of the Reihikari through his sword, slashing away at the massive meteor-like structure, causing it to fall to pieces and explode all around Seireitou. He'd smirk, staring up high at Hikaru. "Is that all?" "Not quite." Hikaru had flashed to behind Seireitou. The Hikaru that stood above him was an afterimage. Hikaru slashed downward, aiming to break Sei's left arm. Seireitou spun his body clockwise from where he stood, blocking the swordstrike just nanoseconds before it'd make contact with his arm. However, almost instantaneously, Seireitou's left hand rose up in the momentum, focusing a dense amount of spiritual power. "Sayonnara." He discharged the one-handed Reihikari at point-blank range. The blast sent Hikaru hurtling away from Seireitou, tumbling to the ground after 15 or so meters. He lay staring at the sky, covered in cuts and bruises. "That hurt a lot." He stood up and cracked his neck. "I suppose 20% power wasn't enough to defend from that." Seireitou's eyes lazily looked onward, holding his sword down at his side. "Twenty percent is not anywhere near enough." he remarked. Hikaru smirked. "How about 40?" Hikaru's doubling power kicked up all the dust around him, and shot straight through the skies, eliminating all the clouds near Hikaru's sphere of influence. He stood up, and pointed his sword to Seireitou. "Let's dance." With a soft change in expression, displaying more of a grin, Seireitou held his own blade up in a fighting stance position. Disappearing from sight, he reappeared on Hikaru's right, slamming his blade down on the latter while preparing to follow through with another sword strike should this one miss. Almost no way to dodge. Hikaru thought to himself. As Sei was bringing his sword down on Hikaru, Hikaru coated his left hand with energy utilizing Reiseī, and caught his opponents first attack. As Seireitou slashed a second time, Hikaru blocked with his sword, withstanding the great force behind the attack. Seireitou held up the struggle for a few moments, his eyes deadlocked with Hikaru's, as both of his strikes beforehand had been blocked. A small smile was etched onto the silver-haired man's face, as he began to slowly speak. "Rei..." "Hi..." Energy gathered at both of Seireitou hands, his entire body emitting a powerful blue aura, unlike the standard white spiritual energy he was often seen with. "Ka..." "Ri..." "Oh, crap," were the last words Hikaru muttered. "HAH!!" With no path to travel, the force of the Reihikari exploded with an immense surge of power, aiming to crush Hikaru at close range. Hikaru found no way to block the blast, only defending from its tremendoues destructive power. When the dust cleared, along with a few miles of land, Hikaru stood firm, missing his sleeves and his hair flowing in the wind. Two broken blue wristbands with the characters 保護 (Hogo, lit. protection) fell off of Hikaru's arms. "Well, that happened," said Hikaru, wincing from the nicks and cuts on his body, along with a lot of blunt trauma to his chest and stomach. Hikaru set down his blade and ripped off any loose fabrics from his clothing. Unlike his sleeves, the rest of his attire didn't suffer as much damage, if any. "Shūshi Kaenōra taught you very well Sei. I see why he passed on the Reihikari Wave to you." Hikaru picked up his sword and swung it a few times. "I suppose I'll have to use my Shikai now." His reiatsu soared back to what he called 40 percent. "Let's be clear Sei. I said 40 percent, but that only applied to my current form. Let me get to 100 percent." Hikaru stood a little bit above the ground, then his reiatsu began to rise higher. "48." The ground began to crack, but Hikaru's power kept going higher. "52." The air density rose slightly, and Hikaru's power went higher. "67." Cracks turned to fissures as Hikaru's power escalated. "74." A reversed dome appeared in the ground below where Hikaru levitated. "83." The hole deepened. "95." Dust kicked up, creating huge sandstorms. Mizu's barrier stood firm. He had seen this kind of power before, and he was not afraid. "100." The sands swirled around Hikaru. "After that Reiseī training, I thought it useless to power up like this. It's almost saying that I can influence nature itself with my presence. Thankfully, this kind of thing won't happen later on." Hikaru smiled wryly. "In my Shikai, no one can feel my power." He raised his sword, "Shine through the Darkness, Tenshitō." Seireitou let out a soft sigh, looking toward Hikaru with a soft smile as before. Swinging his blade in a slow arc, he resheathed the Zanpakutō. "One hundred percent? I never thought I'd hear those words coming from you, Hikaru-san. But regardless, since you're so willing to use such strength, it'd be disrespectful for me not to use a trick of my own." he stated, holding both of his arms down as his knees bent down just a bit. "I open the floor to you, old friend." Round Two Hikaru disappeared from view. Somehow, he had become undetectable. He reappeared above Seireitou, swinging down his sword on his rival's shoulder. Hikaru had indeed disappeared, fast enough to make even Seireitou lose track of him. But that would not be enough. Once Hikaru's slash came close to Seireitou's shoulder, the feel of the air movement due to the swinging force would normally be unfelt. But to a martial arts master, they know the feeling all too well. With a quick flash step, Seireitou caused his body to move upside down, mid-air as he jumped, meeting Hikaru's blade with a Jujutsu grab by snapping his hands on the opposite blunt ends of the blade so as not to get cut, while Seireitou's momentum caused his leg to fly upwards, aiming to crush Hikaru's head with a strong Roundhouse Kick.